Trio guilty of robbing mailman at gunpoint in SC, prosecutor says. Here’s what they wanted
Two Columbia, South Carolina, residents and a Georgia man face lengthy prison sentences after pleading guilty to robbing a postal carrier, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Columbia’s Don Everett Peters III and Shylik Lamont Smalls, along with Valdosta, Georgia, resident Elijah Rasue Dewayne Ellis could spend decades behind bars for the 2022 armed robbery where they targeted a mailman for his arrow key, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. That key provides access to locked mail collection boxes, according to the release.
“Robbing postal carriers for their keys is becoming a national trend, and it will not be tolerated in South Carolina,” U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs said in the release.
On March 17, 2022, Peters, Smalls, and Ellis watched another postal carrier in the Hollywood-Rose Hill/Rosewood area of Columbia, before they robbed a mailman making his rounds on Hollywood Drive, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Smalls and Ellis wore masks as they approached the carrier, and Ellis pointed a gun at the mailman when demanding his keys, according to the release. Peters, who waited in the getaway car, then picked up Smalls and Ellis, and the trio drove away from the area, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
No injuries were reported.
After an extensive investigation, including reviews of numerous surveillance cameras and witness interviews, law enforcement officers linked the getaway vehicle to Peters, according to the release.
After a review of Peters’ prior encounters with law enforcement and cellphone, postal inspectors were able to link Smalls to Peters, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Investigators determined that Smalls matched the description of one of the robbers, that both Smalls and Peters had access to guns, and that Smalls possessed clothing matching the description of the clothing worn by one of the robbers, according to the release.
On May 4, 2022, Smalls was found with the stolen arrow key in his pants pocket, while investigators also recovered stolen mail, check making materials, several electronic devices such as cellphones and laptops. Two privately made firearms, which are commonly known as “ghost guns,” were found in Peters’ and Smalls’ respective bedrooms, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Inside Peters’ car, investigators found documentation belonging to Ellis, according to the release.
Both Peters and Smalls admitted to being involved in the robbery, along with Ellis, who was arrested on May 31, 2022, in Valdosta, Georgia, where he possessed a “ghost gun” and a quantity of marijuana, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Ellis also admitted to being involved in the robbery with Peters and Smalls, and all three remain in federal custody, according to the release.
Peters, Smalls, and Ellis each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Letter Carrier, assault/armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Letter Carrier, and theft/possession of a U.S. Postal arrow key, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Peters and Smalls also each pleaded guilty to theft/possession of U.S. mail, according to the release.
The three men face a maximum punishment of 25 years in prison on the assault/armed robbery of the postal carrier charge, a maximum of 10 years in prison on the theft/possession of an arrow key charge, and a maximum of 5 years in prison on both the conspiracy and the theft/possession of mail charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. There is no parole in the federal system.
They each also face a fine of up to $250,000 for each charge, restitution, and up to 5 years of supervision upon their release from prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence the trio after receiving and reviewing sentencing reports prepared by the U.S. Probation Office, according to the release.
“Protecting the employees of the United States Postal Service is a top priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division, said in the release. “We want to thank our law enforcement partners that worked tirelessly to apprehend these dangerous individuals.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Columbia Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the Lowndes County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2023 at 11:52 AM.
